Automated recycling of LCD screens
The Re-Volv project, which concluded in 2018, was devised because the recycling of LCD panels is posing a particular problem for WEEE recyclers in the EU (and beyond) as, according to the Directive 2019/12/EU on WEEE, mercury and liquid crystals must be removed from LCDs before the traditional treatment of shredding. However, WEEE recycling companies in Europe are currently struggling to comply with this directive as the existing manual disassembly process is slow, labour intensive and expensive (3-4 LCDs processed per hour). The difficulty of LCD disassembly combined with high costs has led to a situation of stockpiling of LCDs at recycling facilities across Europe.
The project was co-ordinated by Votechnik which spun out from the University of Limerick's Department of Design and Manufacturing Technology in 2011. Partners in the project were DanWEEE (Denmark), WEEE Forum, as well as the University of Limerick.
